HAPPENING TODAY — OBAMA TO PUSH PRIVATE SECTOR ON SOLAR: President Barack Obama will call on private sector companies to increase their use of solar power during a "Solar Summit" at the White House today, the Washington Post writes this morning. The Energy Department is putting $15 million into a program to boost the solar portfolios of state, local and tribal governments, and DOE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will give a boost to federal efforts to install 100 megawatts of renewable power on subsidized housing by the end of the decade, the paper writes. That's in addition to previous plans to set up 3 gigawatts of renewable power on military bases by 2025. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Obama adviser John Podesta will be on hand for the announcement. WP: http://wapo.st/1qMP8lE

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DURING UKRAINE CRISIS, AZERBAIJAN’S TIME TO SHINE? The confrontation between Ukraine and Russia is helping to create an opening for another former Soviet state that wants to become a bigger gas supplier to Europe. Azerbaijan hopes its geographic and geopolitical position will help persuade the Obama administration to offer more vocal support for a $45 billion natural gas pipeline that would connect the country’s Caspian Sea drilling operations to Europe via Italy. Darren Goode has the story: http://politico.pro/1tdjcc0

NOT HAPPENING TODAY — 316(b) COOLING WATER RULE: EPA told a federal district court Wednesday that the agency will not issue a final regulation on cooling water towers at major power plants and manufacturing facilities, as it had planned to do tomorrow. Administrator Gina McCarthy should be able to sign a final decision by May 16, according to a letter that EPA sent to a federal judge. The rule — known as “316(b)” after the relevant section of the Clean Water Act — has been held up by an Endangered Species Act consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Services, said the letter: http://1.usa.gov/1iquTHK

Greens plan to press: Environmental groups say they will ask a federal court to force the agency to finish the rule. “EPA’s breach of the legal commitment it made to issue a final 316(b) rule by April 17 is yet the latest in a long string of failures by this agency to meet its own deadlines, leaving us no choice but to return to federal court where we can seek an order compelling the rule’s issuance,” said Reed Super, an attorney representing Riverkeeper.

Back-up plan: Environmental groups and EPA already had a court date scheduled for April 23 just in case the agency didn’t make the deadline.

INSLEE HIRES FORMER COAL LOBBYIST TO HEAD POLICY SHOP: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has hired Matt Steuerwalt, a former coal lobbyist, to head his policy office starting May 1. Steuerwalt was formerly Gov. Chris Gregoire’s top energy and climate adviser, and is currently at the strategy firm Strategy 360. While Steuerwalt helped push Washington to start the Western Climate Initiative (from which the state withdrew in 2011), some environmentalists are concerned about his more recent work on behalf of coal interests. Washington, along with Oregon, has become a battleground over the coal export terminals companies want to construct to ship coal to Asia. Steuerwalt represented TransAlta in negotiations with the state to phase out the company's Centralia power plant, the state's only coal-fired plant. He also lobbied on behalf of a coal port proposal. Inslee spokeswoman Jaime Smith said Steuerwalt “will have no impact on the state’s role in reviewing coal export projects.” More from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: http://bit.ly/1gBFtYu

TODAY’S MONTHLY FERC MEETING may have a quick turnaround compared to recent sessions. There are no rulemakings on the agenda and, other than a few certificate items, there are no natural gas items. Still, regulators are prepared to make a decision on updates to NTTG’s compliance filing for Order No. 1000. Nearly a year ago, FERC said that NTTG, a group of utilities in the West, had only “partially” complied with the transmission planning and cost allocation order and told them to make several changes, including revisions to their open-access transmission tariffs and to provide justification on their transmission planning proposal. The commission is also set to make decisions on four compliance filings under the agency’s 2012 variable energy resources order (Order No. 764), which aims to reduce barriers for intermittent renewables such as wind in part by requiring transmission providers to offer more frequent scheduling. 10 a.m. at FERC HQ, 888 First St. NE. Webcast: http://1.usa.gov/y00BJo

DOD APPROVES NEW ENERGY DIRECTIVE: The Defense Department has signed off on what it says is its first major defense energy policy in over two decades. The new 11-page directive lays out policy guidance and assigns responsibilities for the military, the biggest energy consumer in the U.S. The directive says the DOD will continue its work to diversify and expand its energy sources, furthering its work on renewable energy and biofuels R&D and deployment. The Pentagon will also work to improve the "energy performance of weapons systems, platforms, equipment, and products," consider energy-related risks and "train personnel in valuing energy as a mission essential resource." Read: http://1.usa.gov/1j2LAWm

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BIPARTISAN HOUSE GROUP HEADS TO UKRAINE TO TALK ENERGY: A bipartisan group of lawmakers is headed to Ukraine from Monday through Wednesday, and energy issues are on the agenda, alongside boosting international broadcasts in eastern Ukraine. House Foreign Affairs Committee leaders Ed Royce and Eliot Engel are leading the trip, which also includes Reps. Red Poe, David Cicilline, Alan Lowenthal, Lois Frankel, Jim Gerlach and Mike Quigley. The lawmakers are slated to meet with presidential candidates, election watchdogs and members of ethnic and religious minority communities.

White House preparing new sanctions: The Obama administration is "actively preparing new sanctions," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters yesterday, though it doesn’t appear widespread action against Russia’s huge energy sector is in play quite yet. Wall Street Journal: “A U.S. official said the U.S. doesn't have high confidence of a breakthrough in the talks. The U.S. isn't preparing to sanction main sectors of the Russian economy — a move that would have wide-ranging economic effects — unless Moscow invades Ukraine.” WSJ: http://on.wsj.com/1eKPAPu

FORMER MMS DIRECTOR BASHES ADMINISTRATION ON POST-BP SPILL RESPONSE: S. Elizabeth Birnbaum, who was director of the Minerals Management Service at the time of the BP spill, and Jacqueline Savitz of Oceana write in the New York Times that little has been done on offshore drilling safety. “We would never have imagined so little action would be taken to prevent something like this from happening again. But, four years later, the Obama administration still has not taken key steps recommended by its experts and experts it commissioned to increase drilling safety. As a result, we are on a course to repeat our mistakes. Making matters worse, the administration proposes to expand offshore drilling in the Atlantic and allow seismic activities harmful to ocean life in the search for new oil reserves.” http://nyti.ms/1jM3foe

AGENTS OF SHIELD: A panel discussion about the threats to the electric grid from electromagnetic pulses and solar storms yesterday afternoon is likely to keep ME from getting a good night’s rest for a while. But the event, hosted by the EMP Coalition, which is changing its name to the Secure the Grid Coalition, wasn’t a complete downer. Peter Vincent Pry, a former staff member of the Congressional EMP Threat Commission, and others praised the re-introduction of the GRID Act, sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman and Sen. Ed Markey, as well as Rep. Trent Franks’ SHIELD Act. Both bills, he argued, would create a relationship between FERC and the utility industry more akin to how the Federal Aviation Administration looks over the airline industry’s shoulder.

— While he complained about foot-dragging at the federal level, Pry noted the work of Robert Newman, the former Virginia adjutant general, in getting states to approve measures protect the grid from EMPs. In less than a year, he said, Virginia, Maine and Florida have approved “EMP protection” initiatives.

NEW ENERGY STORAGE PARTNERSHIP LAUNCHES TODAY: Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy David Danielson is in San Francisco today to announce new corporate members of a public-private partnership to push the development of energy storage technologies. CalCharge, a consortium between Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and CalCEF, will announce several new corporate members today, including Duracell, Hitachi, Volkswagen and LG. The partnership helps the companies get access to national lab resources.

FROM ME’S MAILBAG: Rep. Raúl Grijalva wants the Interior Department inspector general to “investigate the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in efforts to pass bills at the state level that directly contradict federal land management policies and directives, and to assess the extent to which these efforts have affected Department of the Interior personnel.” Read: http://1.usa.gov/1eyVYZM

NEW ENERGY INFLUENCE: In the latest Energy Influence: we focus on first-quarter FEC reports that candidates and some PACs filed this week, take a look at the year’s hottest Senate races, find out which candidate is getting enthusiastic support from biofuel PACs and examine former Senate energy committee staff director McKie Campbell’s new lobbying clients. Pros can read it here: http://politico.pro/1ncAaG0

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**A message from the U.S. Chamber’s Global Energy Institute: Today, America’s diverse energy resources are providing abundant, reliable and affordable electricity that is critical to our economy. Unfortunately, that mix is at risk. A new report by IHS Markit cosponsored by the Global Energy Institute explains just how important a diverse set of resources really is. Our current energy mix, including nuclear and coal, is saving us $114 billion per year in electricity costs—lowering the average price by 27%. Without all of our resources, America could lose 1 million jobs within 3 years and $158 billion in GDP, and each American household could see a loss of up to $845 in income each year. To read the report and learn more about how a balanced set of electricity resources is key to our economy and security, click here: http://bit.ly/2huaJ4F **

About The Author

Alex Guillén is an energy reporter for POLITICO Pro, where he covers EPA, regulations and coal, as well as lobbying and campaign finance in the energy realm. He previously wrote the Morning Energy newsletter. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., with a degree in anthropology and English. He is an avid reader and TV binger. The Delawarean, thrilled that there are finally Capriotti’s outposts in Washington, lives in Alexandria, Va.